James Allen "Jimmie" Wright was born in Wilmington (New Hanover County), North Carolina on April 13, 1836. While attending the University of North Carolina in the early and mid 1850s, Wright had a tenuous relationship with Margaret Eliza Cotten, which she discussed in her diary (presently held by the State Archives of North Carolina). During the Civil War, Wright served the Confederacy and was killed at the Battle of Ellerson's Mill in Virginia on July 26, 1862.